Card game

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a card game between a banker and players includes a standard deck of 53 cards having the standard four suits and a Joker. After each player places a bet, the dealer deals a hand of four cards to each player and the banker. Each of the hands are set into a two card top hand and a two card bottom hand. The hands are ranked with paired sets higher than unpaired sets. The banker has a copy win advantage so that the banker wins if the cards are the same ignoring suit. The ranking of paired sets is in the following order from highest to lowest: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, T-T, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/424,902 which was filed Dec. 20, 2010, and is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/773,166, filed onMay 4, 2010, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of card games.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

Le in U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,795 issued Oct. 24, 2004 for Method of PlayingWagering Game provides for a modified game of Pai Gow, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference. Le in the background of theinvention states that Pai Gow is a poker like game where each player isdealt seven cards and the cards are then set by the player into a twocard front hand and a five card back hand which are both compared todetermine the winner. Le uses a seven card deal with a two card fronthand and a five card back hand.

Feloa in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,220 issued Sep. 21, 2004 for Pai Gow PokerType Card Game Of Chance With Bonuses on Partial Hands, provides for abonus outcome, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. Feloa provides a bonus based on a three card bonus and a fivecard bonus.

Boylan in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,041 issued Jan. 26, 1999 for Pai Gow Pokerwith Auxiliary Game provides for a bonus outcome, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference. Boylan makes the bonusparticipatory and a bonus game is actually played for the bonus outcome.

In addition to modified versions of Pai Gow, there are also modifiedversions of Super Pan 9 and Pan 9 as described by Artle in U.S. Pat. No.6,511,071 issued Jan. 28, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference. Artie provides for a special rule hand to makethings more interesting.

Lo in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,043 issued Jan. 26, 1999 for a Card Game, alsoprovides for a special rule hand which is the four of a kind, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Lo makes thefour of a kind the high hand. Otherwise, Lo also provides for a Pai Gowstyle split hand but having a three card high hand and a two card lowhand.

Many of the games related to poker, Pai Gow and Pan 9 have myriadnonobvious variations cited in the patent literature, or mentioned inother publications. What is needed is a game that is relatively easy tolearn and comprehend, while maintaining a fair balance between theparticipants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of playing a card game between a banker and players includes astandard deck of 53 cards having the standard four suits and a Joker.After each player places a bet, the dealer deals a hand of four cards toeach player and the banker. Each of the hands are set into a two cardtop hand and a two card bottom hand. The hands are ranked with pairedsets higher than unpaired sets. The banker has a copy win advantage sothat the banker wins if the cards are the same ignoring suit. Theranking of paired sets is in the following order from highest to lowest:A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, T-T, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2.

Unpaired sets are ranked according to a point value, so that the K, Q,J, T has a point value of zero and the Ace has a point value of one. Akicker value is assigned to rank sets having equivalent point values sothat cards that have a zero point value have a kicker value wherein thekicker value is ranked in the following order from highest to lowest: A,K, Q, J, T. The top set of each player is compared to the top set of thebanker and the bottom set of each player is compared to the bottom setof the banker. A winner of the top set, or a push of the top set isdetermined and a winner of the bottom set, or a push of the bottom setis determined. A winner of the hand is determined as between the playerand the banker by comparing the number of sets won between the playerand the banker. The player wins if the player wins more sets than thebanker, and the banker wins if the banker wins more sets than theplayer, but the player and banker tie if the player and banker win thesame number of sets. Bets are settled between the banker and the playerafter determining the winner of the hand.

In some embodiments, the banker hand must qualify by satisfying presetqualifying criteria in order for the game to proceed to settle eachplayer bet. In some embodiments, if the preset qualifying criteria isnot achieved then the hand is discontinued, and the bet or a portionthereof may be returned to the player, as if the hand ended in a push.The preset qualifying criteria may relate to any aspect of the bankerhand, such as the ranking or point value achieved in the banker's bottomhand being at least above a certain ranking or point value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bonus bet pay out chart.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the main steps of general play.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention game is played using a standard 53 card deck. All53 cards in the deck will be used including the one Joker and 52 cardsof the four suits. The game begins first by the dealer dealing the cardsinto 8 hands with 4 cards in each hand, and then leaving the remainingcards from the deck on the side. If a machine is used to shuffle thecards, the dealer will deliver every hand, containing 4 cards each, tothe respective seats determined by the number on a die or dice that wereshaken by a player or banker, or by simply delivering the cards in orderfrom left to right if die or dice were not used to determine where theaction starts. If a shoe is used, up to eight decks of cards can beshuffled together, with 8 Jokers in the shoe so that the dealer candeliver the cards to the players.

The four cards are split into two sets, namely a high set and a low set.Two cards are set high and two cards are set low for a split hand. Thehigh set is on the bottom and the low set is on the top. The object ofthe game is to beat the opponent's hand both on top and the bottom. AllPlayers' hands will be playing against the Player/Banker's hand. If thePlayer's hand beats the Player/Banker's hand on top but loses on thebottom, it will be considered as a push or tie. The same rule appliesthe other way around if the Player's hand beats the Player/Banker's handon the bottom but loses on the top, it will be considered as a push ortie. Players set their cards to make sure that the two cards on top willalways have a lower ranking or value than the two cards on the bottom.Otherwise, it will be considered a “Foul Hand”, or alternatively thelower ranking value will be deemed to be the top pair or the high pairwhich are the ones that are closer to the dealer and further away fromthe player.

After receiving their cards, players will first look for pairs. If thefour cards form into two pairs, then as a matter of general strategy,the small pair will be set on top and the bigger pair will be set on thebottom. If only one pair can be formed, then as a matter of generalstrategy the pair will be put on the bottom, and the remaining twonon-paired cards will be set on top. The two non-paired cards on topwill have their points added together to determine their value with 9being the highest and 0 as the lowest. In a situation when all fourcards cannot make any pair, the player must decide which two cards willbe put together as the top hand and which two will be set as the bottomhand.

The Rankings System:

As used herein, the following abbreviations apply where A stands forAce, K stands for King, Q stands for Queen, J stands for Jack, and Tstands for 10. A dash between letters and digits stands for a set of twocards. See FIG. 2.

Pairs are ranked higher than non pairs. Higher pairs are ranked higherthan lower ones. The order of pairs from highest to lowest is A-A, K-K,Q-Q, J-J, T-T, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2. A-A is thesupreme pair which is the highest pair.

Unpaired cards have their points added together to determine theirvalues with 9 being the highest and 0 being the lowest. K-Q-J-T areconsidered as 0 when being placed with another card to determine theirvalues. For example, K-8 will have a value of 8 and J-7 will have avalue of 7. Ace has a value of one. If the total exceeds nine, the pointvalue remains within the range of zero to nine by assigning the leastsignificant digit as the point value. Thus, a 3-2 will push with a 8-7because both have a point value of five.

Kickers will also play in combinations of unpaired cards to determine atiebreak in case the values of the points are the same. Thus, a K-9 willbeat a Q-9. An A-7 wins against J-8, although both hands have the eightsame point value, but A-7 would win because the Ace kicker is higherthan the J kicker. However, a K-8 loses to a 5-4 since the 5-4 has anine point value but the K-8 only has an eight point value.

If the player/banker copies the hand, the player/banker wins. Copy isdefined as having the exact same cards of any suit. The player/bankertherefore has a copy hand win advantage. For example, if a player has aQ-8 and J-J and the banker has Q-8 and 9-9, the result would be a tiealso called a push. In this situation, although the Banker's bottom hand(pair of 9's) loses to Player's bottom hand (pair of Jacks) both Playerand Banker's hands copied on top and Banker wins in all copiedscenarios, so situation will be considered as a push. In a secondexample of the copy hand advantage, a banker has a K-9 and Q-Q; and aplayer has a K-9 and A-8. In this situation, it will be considered as a“WIN” for the Banker's hand since it beats the Player's hand on topbecause they both copied and the pair of Q's on the bottom also beatsthe A-8. In a third example of the copy had advantage, a banker has aQ-9 and 3-4; and a player has a K-9 and 2-5. The player would win thetop hand because the banker does not have copy hand win advantage whenthe cards are not the same of any suit and the K kicker is higher thanthe Q kicker. The banker and player would push on the bottom hand sinceboth point totals are seven.

Jokers are wild. Wild means that the Joker can be used as any other cardin the deck. This means that the Joker can save a weak hand or make astrong hand even more powerful. In a first example of the Joker wildrule, a player receives a 10, Jack, Queen, and Joker. The player can setthe hand with Jack-Ten on top for a 0 point top and Joker-Queen on thebottom, making a pair of Queens. It is unlikely that zero on top willbeat anyone with the Jack Kicker, but a pair of Queens on the bottomcannot be beat easily either. In the second example of the Joker wildrule a player is dealt 9, Ace, Ace, Joker. This should be set as pair of9's and pair of Aces which would be a monster hand, also called a verystrong hand that is highly favorable for a win.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned gaming method includes aqualification step whereby the player/banker hand must satisfy presetcriteria after being dealt in order for the hand to proceed. Forexample, the preset qualifying criteria may set forth that should theplayer/banker hand must have a point value of 3 or less, that is, 0, 1,2 or 3 to qualify. It should be readily apparent that other embodimentsof the invention may include other preset qualifying criteria, such asfor example, the player/banker hand achieving at least a minimum rankingbased on all the cards dealt to the player/banker hand prior to beingset into respective top and bottom hands, a player/banker top handhaving a specific point value or range, specific point value ranges forthe player/banker bottom and top hands, or a different point value rangefor the player/banker bottom hand. In some embodiments, if theplayer/banker hand does not qualify, then the hand is discontinued andnot allowed to proceed to settle the bets. Any player's wagers receivedin the game are either partially or wholly returned, as if the handended in a push. Should the player/banker hand satisfy the presetcriteria and thus qualify, then the game will proceed as describedherein with the player and banker hand competing against one another. Inalternative embodiments, the house may also take a rake, such as 5% ofall wagers placed.

General Strategy

The following examples will provide additional detail regarding thegeneral strategy of the game.

When a hand contains a Joker with 3 non-paired cards, the combination ofthe two non-paired cards with the highest value should be put on top andthe remaining non-paired card should be put on the bottom with theJoker, making it a pair. In a first Joker with 3 non-paired cardsexample, a player receives 6, 9, J, Joker. The player would play J-9 ontop and 6-Joker on the bottom, making it 9 and a pair of 6's. In asecond Joker with 3 non-paired cards example, a player receives 3, 4, K,Joker. The player would play 3-4 on top with K-Joker on the bottom,making it 7 and a pair of Kings.

When a hand contains a Joker with a pair, if the non-paired card ishigher than the paired cards, a player would put the pair on top and thenon-paired card with the Joker on the bottom. In a first exampleregarding a Joker with a pair, a player receives 5, 5, 9, Joker. Theplayer would play 5-5 on top and 9-Joker on the bottom, making it pairof 5's and pair of 9's. In a second example involving a Joker with apair, the player receives 3, 3, Q, Joker. The player would play 3-3 ontop and Q-Joker on the bottom.

When the non-paired card is smaller than the paired cards, thenon-paired card will be put on top with the Joker and the pair on thebottom. For example, if a player receives J, J, 9, Joker, the playerwill play 9 with Joker on top, making it pair of 9's and pair of Jackson the bottom. For example, if a player receives 4, 4, 2, Joker, theplayer would play Deuce and Joker on top as pair of Deuces with pair of4's on the bottom.

Sometimes it is best to split a pair. For example, if a player receives3, 3, 5, 6 the player could set 6-5 on top with a low value of 1 and 3-3on the bottom. The player can also split up the 3's by setting 5-3 ontop and 6-3 on the bottom, making it 8 point top and 9 point bottom.Sometimes it would not be best to split a pair. If a player received 8,4, 9, 9, this hand should be set with 8-4 on top with a point value of 2and 9-9 on the bottom. In this case, it could be strategically better toplay the hand than to split up the 9's and play it as 3 point top and 7point bottom.

There are some possible exceptions to the above general rules with 8'sand 9's with the non-paired cards when paired with 10, J, Q, or K.Instead of playing zero with a pair of 8's or 9's, players could splitup the pairs playing it 8/8 or 9/9. This could dramatically increase thechance of winning because playing zero and pair is far more likely topush and lose than win. On the other hand, if the player is feelingdefensive, the player can play a pair on the bottom with a low pointvalue on top to try for a push.

If a hand is dealt with four non-pair cards the player tries to obtainhigher point values on both the top and the bottom. For example, a handcontaining 2, 5, 6, 9 would be played as 5/7 which is five points on topand seven points on the bottom, as 6-9 on top and 2-5 on the bottom.Distributing the points in this manner will help make the hand morebalanced. In a second example, a player receives 7, 8, 10, K so theplayer should set the hand with K-7 on top and 10-8 on the bottom so asto give the 7 a higher kicker.

If a hand contains a Three-of-a-kind and another random card, two cardsfrom the Three-of-a-kind should be put on the bottom, and the remainingtwo cards put on top, even if one of the cards is a Joker. In the firstexample, the player receives 4, 4, 4, Joker and should set Joker-4 ontop and 4-4 on the bottom. In a second example, the player receives 5,5, 5, 2, so the player should put 5-5 on the bottom, making a pair of5's and 5-2 to make 7 on top.

If the hand contains Four-of-a-kind, they should be broken up into twopairs with one pair on top and another on the bottom.

Special Options

After receiving the hand and the cards, but before the player sees thebanker cards, the player can elect either a first option ofsurrendering, or a second option of card exchange. The options would bemutually exclusive.

The first option is to surrender. Players will have the chance tosurrender half of the original bet to the player banker prior to thedealer opening the hand. When surrendered, each wager will receive halfof its original bet back. This option ought to be considered when aplayer holds a hand that is so bad which they believe the chance ofpushing is rather slim, whereas the probability of losing the hand isfar more greater. An example of a hand that would make a good candidatefor the surrender option would be 10, Q, 2, 3. For example, if theoriginal bet was $100, surrendering would receive $50 back. If theoriginal bet was $75, a player would receive $38 back.

The second option for the player would be a card exchange option. Withfour cards in their hands, each player will have the option to exchangeone of their cards with the dealer for another card. This creates someinteresting strategy. It would be logical to exchange the one card thatthey believe to be the least useful to them. For example, if the playerreceives 3, 4, 6, Jack. In this case, 3 and 6 makes 9, so they wouldwant to keep that. Between 4 and Jack, the player will have to choosewhich card they want to keep and which card they will exchange. If theplayer received 3, 3, Q, Q there would be no need for the player toexchange his cards, since an exchange would only weaken the hand. If aplayer received Ace, 8, 10, 10 the player already has a value of 9 ontop with an Ace kicker and a pair of 10's so strategically, it would bebetter to keep the hand as it is than to exchange any of the cards. Byexchanging the Ace, the best card the player could hope for would beanother 8, and by exchanging the 8, the only card player could hope forwould be another Ace. These are the only two scenarios that would helpimprove the hand and the rest would only weaken it. The discarded cardis out of play.

Every time a hand is played, each player will have the above two optionsavailable for them to consider but only one can be exercised.

Optionally, a Bonus Bet Option can be offered to the players. This is abonus bet which players must place at the same time they place theirmain wager and prior to receiving their cards. The bonus bet pay outcould be according to the following example payout chart of FIG. 1.

Procedure for Dealers Setting the Banker's Hand

Step 1: Place 2 cards on top and 2 cards on the bottom.

Step 2: The cards will be set closely to each other.

Step 3: The “Kicker” will be set to the left.

Step 4: After setting the hand, Dealer will announce the value of thehand, signaling this is the way the hand will be played.

House Way Rules

The following house way rules can be adopted as a guideline for HouseWay means.

1). If a hand is dealt with two pairs, the smaller pair with the lowerranking will be put on top and the bigger pair with the higher rankingwill be put on the bottom.

Example #1: 3-3-7-7.

-   -   *Pair of 3's on top and pair of 7's on the bottom.

Example #2: 8-8-Q-Q.

-   -   *Pair of 8's on top and pair of Q's on the bottom.

With Four-of-a-kind, they will automatically be broken up into two pairswith one pair on top and another on the bottom.

2). If a hand contains a pair and 2 non-paired cards, the pair will beput on the bottom and the 2 non-paired cards will be placed together ontop. Pairs are never split under the House-way rules.

Example #1: 3-J-J-9.

-   -   *9-3 will be set as the top hand with pair of J's on the bottom.

Example #2: 6-8-8-4.

-   -   *6-4 will be set as the top hand and 8-8 will be on the bottom.

3). If a hand contains 4 non-paired cards, distribute the points so thatthe top hand would have a value closest to the bottom hand, while at thesame time keeping the top hand as strong as possible.

Example #1: A-2-8-9

Different ways to play the hand:

Top hand: 9-2 8-2 A-2 Bottom hand: A-8 A-9 9-8 Values: 1/9 0/0 3/7

-   -   *3/7 Would be the House-way to play this hand.

Example #2: 3-4-6-K

Different ways to play the hand:

Top hand: K-6 K-4 6-4 Bottom hand: 4-3 6-3 K-3 Values: 6/7 4/9 0/3

-   -   *6/7 would be the House-way to play this hand.

Example #3: 7-8-Ten-K.

Different ways to play the hand:

Top hand: K-Ten Ten-7 K-7 Bottom hand: 8-7 K-8 10-8 Values: 0/5 7/8 7/8

-   -   *This hand will be set with K-7 on top and 10-8 on the bottom.        The 7 receives a higher kicker to increase the odds of winning        on the top hand.

4). House Way Rules regarding jokers.

4A). If a hand has a Joker with 3 non-paired cards, the combination ofthe two non-paired cards with the highest value will be put on top andthe remaining non-paired card will be put on the bottom with the Joker,making it a pair.

Example #1: 6-9-J-Joker.

-   -   *Play J-9 on top and 6 with Joker on the bottom, making it 9 and        a pair of 6's.

Example #2: 3-4-K-Joker.

-   -   *Play 4-3 on top with K and Joker on the bottom, making it 7 and        a pair of Kings.

Exception to Subrule 4A:

Example: 10-Jack-Queen-Joker.

-   -   *In this situation, 10, Jack and Queen all have the same value        of 0 but Queen has a higher ranking. House-way would set Queen        and Joker together as the bottom hand, making it pair of Queens.        Jack-10 will be set as the top hand.

4B). In the situation when a hand contains a Joker with a pair. If thenon-paired card is higher than the paired cards, put the pair on top andthe non-paired card with the Joker on the bottom.

Example #1: 5-5-9-Joker.

-   -   *Play 5-5 on top and 9 with Joker on the bottom, making it pair        of 5's and pair of 9's.

Example #2: 3-3-Q-Joker.

-   -   *Play pair of 3's on top and Q with Joker on the bottom.

4C). In the situation when the non-paired card is smaller than thepaired cards, the non-paired card will be put on top with the Joker andthe pair will be put on the bottom.

Example #1: J-J-9-Joker.

-   -   *Play 9 with Joker on top, making it pair of 9's and pair of        Jacks on the bottom.

Example #2: 4-4-2-Joker.

-   -   *Deuce and Joker will be put on top as pair of Deuces with pair        of 4's on the bottom.

5). In the situation when a hand contains a Three-of-a-kind and anotherrandom card, two cards from the Three-of-a-kind will be automaticallyput on the bottom, and the remaining two cards will be put on top, evenif that random card is a Joker.

Example #1: 4, 4, 4, Joker.

-   -   *In this case, Joker-4 will be set on top and 4-4 will be set on        the bottom.

Example #2: 5,5,5,2.

-   -   *Automatically, 5-5 will be put on the bottom, making a pair of        5's and 5-2 will make 7 on top.

The foregoing describes the preferred embodiments of the invention.Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as set forth in the following claims.

For example, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that themethods described herein may be incorporated in a system in accordancewith the invention using virtual representations of table layouts. Thesystem of the invention may include various computer and network relatedsoftware and hardware, such as programs, operating systems, memorystorage devices, data input/output devices, data processors, serverswith links to data communication systems, wireless or otherwise, anddata transceiving terminals, and may be a standalone device orincorporated in another platform, such as a mobile device. The system ofthe invention may be provided on electronic platforms with multipleplayer positions. In addition, the system of the invention may beprovided at least in part on a personal computing device, such as homecomputer, laptop or mobile computing device through an onlinecommunication connection or connection with the Internet. Those skilledin the art will further appreciate that the precise types of softwareand hardware used are not vital to the full implementation of themethods of the invention so long as players and operators thereof areprovided with useful access thereto or the opportunity to provide andplay the game as described herein.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of thefollowing claims. For example, the above described method of play isaccording to California rules where the dealer would not be the playerbanker. The Nevada method of play would encompass a situation where thedealer could be the player banker. Therefore, while the presentlypreferred form of the invention has been shown and described, andseveral modifications thereof discussed, persons skilled in this artwill readily appreciate that various additional changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.

1. A method of playing a card game between a banker and a plurality ofplayers comprising the steps of: a. shuffling one or more standard decksof 53 cards, wherein each deck of cards includes the standard four suitsand a Joker; b. each player placing a bet; c. dealing a hand of fourcards to each player; d. dealing a hand of four cards to the banker; e.setting each of the hands into a two card top hand and a two card bottomhand; f. ranking the hands with paired sets higher than unpaired sets,further comprising the step of assigning the banker a copy winadvantage, wherein the banker wins if the cards are the same ignoringsuit; g. ranking paired sets in the following order from highest tolowest: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, T-T, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2;h. ranking unpaired sets according to a point value, wherein the K, Q,J, T have a point value of zero and the Ace has a point value of one; i.assigning a kicker value to rank sets having equivalent point valueswherein cards that have a zero point value have a kicker value whereinthe kicker value is ranked in the following order from highest tolowest: A, K, Q, J, T; j. comparing the top set of each player to thetop set of the banker and comparing the bottom set of each player to thebottom set of the banker; k. determining a winner of the top set, or apush of the top set, and determining a winner of the bottom set, or apush of the bottom set; l. determining a winner of the hand as betweenthe player and the banker by comparing the number of sets won betweenthe player and the banker, wherein a player wins if the player wins moresets than the banker, wherein the banker wins if the banker wins moresets than the player, wherein the player and banker tie if the playerand banker win the same number of sets; m. settling the bet between thebanker and the player.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising thestep of: providing the option of a bonus bet before or after the step ofeach player placing a bet; and further comprising the step of settlingthe bonus bet based upon a player's hand.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising the step of: before the step of setting the hands,offering the player an option of choosing either a first option ofsurrendering the hand for a return of a portion of the bet, or a secondoption of exchanging one of the cards in their hand for another randomlydealt card.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of shuffling oneor more standard decks of 53 cards uses eight decks.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the step of: setting the banker handaccording to a House Way means.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of: assigning a wild value to a Joker, wherein aJoker recipient can be assign any value to the Joker.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising the step of: providing the option of a bonusbet before or after the step of each player placing a bet; and furthercomprising the step of settling the bonus bet based upon a player'shand.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of shuffling one ormore standard decks of 53 cards uses eight decks.
 9. The method of claim6, further comprising the step of: setting the banker hand according toa House Way means.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprising thestep of: before the step of setting the hands, offering the player anoption of choosing either a first option of surrendering the hand for areturn of a portion of the bet, or a second option of exchanging one ofthe cards in their hand for another randomly dealt card.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein the step of shuffling one or more standard decks of53 cards uses eight decks.
 12. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising the step of: setting the banker hand according to a House Waymeans.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:providing the option of a bonus bet before or after the step of eachplayer placing a bet; and further comprising the step of settling thebonus bet based upon a player's hand.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the step of shuffling one or more standard decks of 53 cardsuses eight decks.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising thestep of: setting the banker hand according to a House Way means.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of ranking the hands with pairedsets higher than unpaired sets, further comprising the step of assigningthe banker a copy win advantage, wherein the banker wins if the cardsare the same ignoring suit, further comprises comparing the bankerbottom hand rank with a preset qualifying criteria, wherein the hand isdiscontinued and the bet is settled if the preset qualifying criteria isnot satisfied.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the bet is settled bybeing returned to the player.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein thepreset qualifying criteria is a banker hand having a point value of 3 orless.